Posted on 02/28/2023 10:55:10 AM PST by marcusmaximus
This case will be a landmark case in my opinion. Per Sullivan case (USSC), I think it will be established that news media does not have absolute rights if it transcends into false accusations and unsubstantiated slander. The main thing that has been discovered so far is it Fox Prime Time Talking Heads (that people on the Right have admired and salivated over for so many years) actually talk out of both sides of their asses; are afraid of their base and their own viewership, even if it means they have to perpetuate lies and crackpot conspiracy theories to maintain ratings. It’s all about money.
Well, and if the emails/texts highlighted in Dominion’s motion for summary judgment (as well as deposition testimony) it wasn’t just the on-air talent. These decisions went straight to the top.
I ponder the implications of “pay TV” on all of this.
TV used to be free. Now, with so many people getting their media from paid services (cable/dish, etc.) there is a reality that people will stop paying if they feel like they’re not getting what their paying for.
Maybe I’m wrong, but as I was growing up—before cable TV—it didn’t occur to me that the news I wasn’t getting on the 4 channels we got in the house wasn’t “news.” (Of course as a pre-teen or teen I wasn’t exactly giving the “news” the scrutiny I do these days.)
I don’t expect any news program to get the facts correct 100% of the time. But it would be nice to think that news journalists are actually making an effort to confirm what they are reporting.
It’s certainly reasonable to viewers to look for topics that hold their interest, even in the news. But both the right and the left have managed to demand “facts” that fit their narrative. And since the viewers aren’t just “viewers” anymore, but consumers, they’ll take their money wherever they can get their fix.
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